BODY RITUAL AMONG THE NACIREMA

Horace Miner

            Most cultures exhibit a particular style Professor Linton first brought the ritual of the Nacirema to the attention of anthropologist twenty years ago, but the culture of this people is still very poorly understood. They are a North American group living in the territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Tarahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles. Little is known of their origin, although tradition states that they came from the east.

            Nacirema culture is characterized by a highly developed market economy, which has evolved in a rich natural habitat. While much of the people's time is devoted to economic pursuits, a large part of the day is spent in ritual activity. The focus of this activity is the human body; the appearance and health of which dominate the concern in the culture of the people. While such a concern is certainly not unusual, its ceremonial aspects and associated philosophy are unique.

            The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is weakness and disease. Imprisoned in such a body, man's only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of the powerful influences of ritual and ceremony. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their houses and, in fact, the wealth of a house is often referred to in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses. Most houses are of wood construction, but the shrine rooms of the wealthier are walled in with stone. Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls.

       While each family has at least one such shrine, the rituals associated with it are not family ceremonies but are private and secret. The rites are normally only discussed with children, and then only during the period when they are being initiated into these mysteries. I was able; however, to establish sufficient rapport with the natives to examine these shrines and to have the rituals described to me.

             The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest, which is built into the wall. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live without. These preparations are secured from a variety of specialized practitioners. The most powerful of these are the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and by the herbalist's who, for another gift, provide the required charm.

            The charm is not disposed of after it has served its purpose, but is placed in the charm-box of the household shrine. As these magical materials are specific for certain ills, and the real or imagined woes of the people are many, the charm-box is usually full to overflowing. The magical packets are so numerous that people forget what their purposes were and fear to use them again. While the natives are very vague on this point, we can only assume that the idea in retaining all the old magical materials is that their presence in the charm-box will in some way protect the worshiper.

            Beneath the charm-box is a small bowl. Each day every member of the family enters the shrine room, bows their head before the charm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the bowl, and proceeds with a brief rite of purification. The holy waters are secured from the water temple of the community, where elaborate ceremonies to make the liquid ritually pure are conducted.

            Professor Linton also discovered another daily body ritual, which is performed only by men. This part of the rite involves scraping and scratching the surface of the face with a sharp instrument. Women spend more time in this shrine room than men and perform more exotic rituals. Special women's rites are performed only four times during each lunar month, but what they lack in frequency is made up in barbarity. Women scratch and scrape their legs. Women also daily bake their heads in an effort to please others.

      The Nacirema have a horrific fascination with the mouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships. Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their spouses reject them.

            The daily body ritual performed by everyone includes a mouth-rite. Despite the fact that these people are so meticulous about care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice, which strikes the inexperienced stranger as revolting. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures.

             In addition the private mouth-rite, the people seek out a holy-mouth-man once or twice a year. These practitioners have an impressive set of tools, consisting of a variety of probes, and prods. The holy-mouth-man uses these objects in unbelievable ritual torture of the client. The holy-mouth-man gouge at the teeth sometimes causing the gums to bleed. If there is decay the holy-mouth-man will open the mouth enlarge any holes created in the teeth. Magical materials are put into these holes. The extremely sacred and traditional character of the rite is evident in the fact that the natives return to the holy-mouth-man year after year, despite the fact that their teeth continue to decay.

            The medicine men have an imposing temple, or latipsoh, in every community of any size. The more elaborate ceremonies required to treat sick patients can only be performed at this temple. The latipsoh ceremonies are so harsh that it is phenomenal that a fair proportion of the really sick natives who ever enter the temple ever recover. Small children have been known to resist attempts to take them to the temple because "that is where you go to die."

            Our review of the ritual life of the Nacirema has certainly shown them to be a magic-ridden people. It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens, which they have imposed upon themselves. Exotic customs as these take on real meaning for each individual.

            Little is known of the beginnings of the Nacirema, although tradition says that they came from the East. According to Nacirema mythology, a cultural hero, Notgnihsaw, who is known for cutting down the cherry tree, in which the Spirit of Truth lives, was the first leader. Today, it is believed that the Nacirema organized the nation known as Asu.

      Our review of the ritual life of the Nacirema has shown that they are a magic-ridden culture. It is hard to understand how these people have existed so long under the burdens of their beliefs. :-)